Thread: Soliciting Opinions on My Thoughts of a Hone Purchase

I don't currently hone my own razors but I'd like to start as soon as possible and I already have a Norton 1k/4K that I got for free as it has seen better days (will need flattened).

I want a polisher and finisher and I tend to always want to buy top notch stuff so I don't have to spend the extra money in the future to upgrade.

Being that I have the bevel setter, I was thinking of getting two Shaptons, one in the 6-8K range then a finisher in the 12k+ range. I'm not all too familiar with this and I'll learn as I go but does this sound right? I don't assume I can go to a coticule after the 4k but that is also an option for my finisher.

Please give opinions on what works best for you, (my first thought was the Naniwa package on SRD but the 5k in the pack seems redundant and saving a few bucks doesn't really matter in the long run (I wish they offered something similar in Shapton))

My very first "Honing" set up was the Norton 4/8 then I added the Norton 1k when I started honing profesionally, the Shapton GS 16k followed about 4 months later....
It was almost a year before I added the full Shapton set and a Extra Extra Fine (Stamped) Vintage Coticule...

In your case the Shapton GS 8k and 16k would be great or the Naniwa SS 8k and 12k...

You could also go with any natural stone you wanted if you have the gumption to learn the One Stone method...

Historically the most common workhorse hone for razors is the
Norton 4k/8K combo. Since you have a 1k/4k it
almost makes sense to shop for an 8K Norton or
equivalent. You can get a decent shave from the 8K Norton.
The Naniwa 8k hone should be almost an equal.

A finisher is a mater preference. A 12K man
made hone like the Naniwa 12K SuperStone or
perhaps the Shapton should be all you need,
if you need more than an 8K hone.

A Shapton will open two things for you... one of which
is the ability to add hones as fine as 30K
to your kit.

I own the Na12kSS and love it. I suspect
that it is the rare person that needs more.
My go-to kit is a Norton 1K, Norton 4k/8k combo and
a Naniwa12kSS.

Those with a budget and small numbers of razors
might look hard at abrasive films. I use abrasive film from
time to time and am always pleased. It sets
the most precise bevel on problem blades that
I have found. Finishing on 0.3 micron film shaves
quite harsh in my opinion. Like Feather blades
two shaves later the shave gets nice. A good
smooth strop stroke keeps it going at v. nice....

My newer NANIWA CHOSERA 10K hone is still
teaching me things. It is killer and I use
it to refresh well honed razors. Do add
the Naniwa Chosera family to your research.

BTW: The second thing that Shaptons will open
is your wallet ;-) as will Choseras

I would say a 8 & 12K Naniwa as the Shapton GS's can be a bit picky & it's the system taht I know best. I personally think the Naniwa's are a bit more forgiving and easier to learn. You can't go wrong with the 8 & 16K GS though as you could complete the system later. More or less you will be getting opinions and will have to form one for yourself.

As long as you stay with the Shapton, Naniwa, or Nortons, you will be just fine... Stay I would personally recommend staying away from the natural's until you learn one of the systems mentioned above, then experiment with the naturals as they are rather interesting.

This is definitely a lot to think about. One more question though. Would the combo 1k/4k, 8k, diamond spray, make sense also? I've never actually understood where the pastes and sprays fall into the mix. Obviously (I think) they add a finish and some smoothness to the edge but can they be a replacement to a finishing stone?

By the way, thanks for all of the input so far. It's great that you guys can chime in to my specific case although this has been discussed in varying ways countless times.

my setup ran almost EXACTLY like GSSIXGUN, as long as you get a shaving edge of a norton 8k a few turns on a GS16k give a beautiful smooth edge IME, but the shapton took a little getting used to lol

You may as well finish your Norton set, IMO. I also like my Naniwa 12kSS for its smoothness and feedback.

i would go Shapton 1k, Norton 4/8k .
later when you learn and know what are you doing switch more fascinating stones naturals,expensive synthetics etc.
hope this help.

Regarding the original post, you'll have to try to get past the idea of "best." You will find that practice and skill will give better results than purchasing the "best" hone.

This is not meant to be a cop out answer. You have a Norton 1k/4k. You could complement that with a Norton 8k, or a Norton 4k/8k, and one of any number of synthetic or natural finishers. Instead, you could complement that with one of the many synthetic 8k and 12k hones. Also, as you and Glen pointed out, you could jump to a single natural, like a coticule, after the 4k. We can't make the decision for you, only partly because we don't know enough about your intentions. How many razors do you think you will hone per year? Do you intend to do restorations or many eBite razors? You said money didn't matter, but does time? Are you enamored with the Norton? Though they are fine, you could easily sell your hone and go with an entire series. Then again, you could keep the Norton and still do that.

I just plan to hone my own razors and possibly buy some here and there, test them out, then keep them if I like 'em and sell 'em if I don't. I like the idea of just selling what I have and starting with a complete system but the 1k/4k probably isn't worth much in it's present condition. I'll just have to take a leap on something and see how it works then go from there.

I hand't realized that it may be (challenging?) to switch between different makes -- norton to shapton, etc.